


Having It All

by liz_fic



Category: Angel: the Series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The Sentinel
Genre: F/F, F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2000-08-30
Updated: 2000-08-30
Packaged: 2017-11-15 21:28:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,590
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/531903
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/liz_fic/pseuds/liz_fic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Xander tries to find his place.  His first step-- a new job.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Having It All

**Author's Note:**

> Crossover with The Sentinel in later parts. AU after To Shanshu in LA and Restless. X/Angel & W/Sp for now--the Willow pairing will change.
> 
> This is the original version (May 2000) of the fic--there is an alternate version (which changes parts of it drastically) that's post-Season 7 BtVS. Neither are finished, but nor are they abandoned.

Willow opened the door allowing Xander into the living room. He paced back and forth around the coffee table excitedly. The redhead noticed Xan's change of clothing, liking what she saw. It seemed her Xander had finally found his style, although his style reminded her an awful lot of Angelus with black jeans instead of leather. She filed that for later reference.

He finally stood still, but shifted his weight from foot to foot anxiously. "I got a new job today Wills! I think this one is really going to work out." 

"Really, what is it?" Willow's eyes started to cross from watching her best friend try to wear a hole in the carpet. "Slow down Xander, you're wearing me out." Willow pulled Xander over to the couch but couldn't stop his leg from bouncing.

He took a deep breath. "I'm working for Giancarlo Buscetti. I'm his personal assistant, and he likes me!" 

Willow had to smile at Xander's enthusiasm. She didn't know anything about Mr. Buscetti but hadn't seen Xander this happy about any of the sixteen jobs he'd had so far. "Well? Tell me about it Xander! Don't keep me waiting! How did you get the job, and what does it pay, and what do you have to do?" By the time Willow took a breath, she was bouncing in her seat.

"Whoa, and you talk about me slowing down, Wills?" Xander laughed. "Breathe, Willow. Donut run, plenty, and take care of personal errands as far as I know." Xander smiled at his oldest friend.

Willow puzzled through his response. "What do you mean donut run? The one for this morning's research session?" 

Xander nodded. "You know the donut shop over on Main, right?" Willow nodded as he continued, "Well this morning the scary lady was working and she was giving me a bit of trouble with our order." 

Willow remembered the scary lady very well. She was legend among the children and even the adults of Sunnydale. She wasn't old, or unattractive, or even unpleasant. She was a fixture at the bakery, having joined the staff in her teens nearly twenty years ago. Her reputation was made on the fact that she would take an order, smile, and then proceed to give her customers what she thought they should have, charging only half of what the business was owed. She wasn't malicious; she always gave her customers the exact pastry they had been craving even though they didn't realize it or order it either. 

It was just plain scary how she knew her customers and their pastry desires, even if they weren't in the shop and someone else placed their order. Business never slowed, and the shop never lost money over her strange mercantile practices. In fact, the shop made enormous profit and allowed four owners to retire early, but the scary lady, only known as Millie H., seemed content to stay in the position she started in, waiting on customers. "Right, so what happened?" Willow asked.

"Giles had been wanting to try the éclairs instead of his jellies this morning and Millie didn't want to give me any éclairs." Xander gave her a goofy grin.

Willow smiled, knowing it was impossible to get Millie to change her mind, but remembered Giles trying an éclair only to put it down after two bites. She was amazed that Xander got Millie to give him the pastries he ordered. "How did you manage to convince her to let you have them?"

Xander's grin got even wider. "I was Xanderiffic! I used my boyish good looks and charm," Xander paused, "and then I told her I would eat the éclair if Giles decided he didn't like it."

Willow giggled, "She couldn't argue with that! So how did Mr. Buscetti come into all this?"

Xander started bouncing with excitement again. Willow thought they really should cut back on his sugar intake, but smiled when he said, "Wills, I was great, it was a prime performance, Mr. Buscetti was behind me in line and heard it all. He was impressed that I got Millie to change her mind by taking initiative. He decided he could use me in his organization." 

Willow frowned. "Organization? Xander, I don't want to rain on your parade, but that doesn't sound right. What does he expect you to do?"

Xander saw the worry. "No, no, Wills. Nothing illegal, I just run errands and pick up his dry cleaning and make sure his appointments are kept; stuff like that. He said his last assistant decided to go into a specialized program at a university out of state. He said I could take a few classes and he would work around it as long as I keep up with everything he needs."

The job sounded perfect for Xander. He was very skilled at handling people and getting things done. A quality often overlooked by Buffy, and sometimes Giles, unless it was something they didn't want to do. Willow reached over and hugged her friend. "I'm so happy for you Xander! When do you start?"

Xander returned her hug fiercely, she was the best friend a person could have, he thought. "I start tomorrow, and I haven't even told you the best part, Wills."

She pulled back from the hug. "It gets better?" Willow wondered what on earth could be better than what Xander had already described.

"Ya know that Italian pizza place just off of Main, about block and a half from the donut place, with the deep dish that's to die for?" He grinned.

Willow absently played with her shoelaces. "Gio's Pizzeria? Yeah, I remember it. I haven't been there in a couple of months though."

Xander pulled her hand away from her shoelaces. "Guess who Gio is?" 

She slapped his hand and the light bulb suddenly went off. "Oh, oh!" She grinned in triumph. "Giancarlo Buscetti!"

Xander spoke in his best circus announcer voice, "Give the girl a prize!" Xander couldn't sit still any longer. He stood in front of Willow and did the happy Xander dance. "And he says that as long as I'm his assistant I can live above the pizza place and have all the food I can eat from the restaurant. It's perfect, Wills."

"It seems almost too good to be true. Are you sure there's not something Hellmouthy going on somewhere?" Willow didn't want her friend getting hurt.

"Nah, he's just desperate. His last assistant left two weeks ago and he doesn't have time to interview. His company, Buscetti Enterprises, is an investment firm that's a parent company to the restaurant. He gave me a wad of cash and told me to go pick up some black jeans and dark colored silk button downs to wear while I work. He wanted me to look a certain way when I met people for him."

That explains the sudden change in outfits, Willow thought. "But why didn't you say anything earlier at Giles' place?"

Xander sat back down next to Willow. "C'mon, Willow, you know how they would've reacted. They would've just shook their heads and thought 'another failure coming up for the Zeppo'. I wanted to share with someone who'd appreciate what this means for me."

Willow smiled. "A new place to live, a new wardrobe, lots of money, why am I going to college again?"

"Because you're the brains of our gruesome two-some. So have the Fangs decided what we're going to do tonight?" Xander leaned back on the sofa, having calmed considerably from his earlier bouncing. Willow thought the sugar might have finally worn off. Either that or the fact that he finally let his secret out had calmed him.

"Um, I'm not sure." Thoughts of the bleached vampire made her lose her train of thought briefly. "We'll probably eat something and then go shoot pool over at Petey's." An idea occurred to her. "Would you mind if we went to Gio's? It's across the street from Petey's. We won't see Buffy there. Riley is taking her to that Hunan place across town. I know you're going to be living there, but I thought maybe we'd all take a look at it tonight. Pretty please?" Willow gave Xander her version of his puppy dog eyes.

He couldn't resist them, and didn't know of anyone that could. "That's fine Willow, I think it'd be a good idea to recon the place before I start. I just hope you can convince the living undead to be around all that garlic." 

Thoughts of how she could convince Spike were dancing through her brain. "Xander! You know that the only thing garlic does is give them a headache from the smell!" She pushed his shoulder playfully. "I'll convince Spike. You worry about convincing Angel." 

Xander's face turned an unusual shade of purple. "Willow, it's not like that and you know it!"

Willow smirked and feigned innocence. "Xander Harris, I didn't say anything like that. It's your mind that's continuously in the gutter." 

Xander regained his natural color. "Yeah, right, Wills, like yours isn't just as bad. You know you want the bleached wonder." 

"He does have a name, ya know? You don't have to call him the bleached wonder all the time. I don't go around calling Angel, hair-gel boy, do I?" Willow pouted.

"All right, all right, I was joking, geez." Xander ruffled Willow's hair. "You know you want Spike. Is that better?" Xander laughed at the expression on Willow's face.

"Thanks, Xander, that's *so* much better!" Willow knew he was just playing with her though. He was as much infatuated with Angel as she was with Spike even if he wouldn't admit it yet. The whole situation had come about when Giles had sent Willow, Xander and Spike up to LA to exchange some books with the soul-having vampire two months earlier. Giles didn't want to leave the Hellmouth and Spike went along grudgingly because he was the only other person with a car. 

They were surprised to find out that they all actually enjoyed each other's company. It seems that once Angel stopped being the Slayer's lapdog in hopes of finding redemption, an error made by Whistler and rectified later by Doyle, the other two men had no problem with him. Willow didn't have a major problem with him before, but she had to admit that she liked him much better now. Since it was summer, they all decided to spend two nights during the week together, barring Cordelia's visions or saving the world from total destruction. 

It was working pretty well so far. They were Thursday night regulars at Petey's and Friday nights they either went to the Bronze or stayed in and watched movies depending on what Buffy did. They weren't hiding their friendship with Angel from Buffy. The two mortals had a long talk with Buffy about hanging out with Angel the day they had come back from LA. She said she didn't mind, but that she needed more time before she would be comfortable hanging out with him and that she was sure that Angel felt the same way about hanging out with the blonde slayer.

Willow and Xander felt closer to Spike and Angel than they ever did with Giles and Buffy. With the two vampires they didn't feel like they were just tagalongs or weak links. Spike and Angel would often tell them stories of the past. The two mortals would tell the vampires about childhood memories growing up on the Hellmouth. The vampires especially liked the stories about Xander and Willow pretending to be sibling superheroes that always ended in water fights. Xander's alter ego could turn into any form of water and he liked to douse Willow in the process of saving the day. 

After that first trip to LA, Willow told Xander about her feelings for Spike. He didn't laugh or tell her he was going to find a dull stake or a bottle of holy water. After ranting about his concerns loudly for several minutes, he calmed down, only reminding her about the chip possibly not being permanent. She had a tiny suspicion that Xan liked Angel, really liked him, as in Larry the football player liked him, and therefore couldn't really protest too much. She thought he and Angel would be great together.

It was Xander's turn for the puppy dog eyes, "Pretty please call them both, Wills?"

She relented and pushed him towards the end table with the phone on it, "All right, I'll call them both, give me the phone Mister Coward."

~*~

Angel arrived at Willow's house with Spike at sundown. He'd driven straight to Sunnydale after finishing a domestic violence case. The Varik demoness wouldn't be having her human husband's heart on a platter after all. The vampire crusader did drop by his apartment in LA to shower and change first though. It was a good thing, for Willow had called and left two messages. The first one asked if he or Spike would mind going to a pizza place to celebrate Xander's new job, and the second message left an hour later asked him to pick up Spike and meet her at her house a little early. 

Angel knocked on her door, thankful that Willow's parents had finally just moved to Boston and left her the house. The vampire knew she was lonely though, and kept trying to convince his childe to give up his apartment and move in with the redhead. Spike, being the stubborn vampire he was, refused to do so until there was no doubt the redhead loved him. Angel couldn't figure out for his unlife why Spike was being so blind.

"Come on in, guys." Willow called out from the kitchen. She knew the vampires would most likely be hungry and was currently watching their dinner heat in the microwave.

"Willow! You know better than to tell someone to come in without looking first. We could've been vampires." Angel realized what he'd said and looked sheepish. "I mean, we could've been here to hurt you!"

"He's right luv, we could've been here to maul you." Spike looked uncomfortable at his own words and changed the subject, "Dinner for us?"

"No I thought Xander and I would try a little O positive tonight and leave you two with the pizza." Willow giggled and handed the still warm mugs to Angel and Spike.

"Thanks, Ducks." Spike's eyes glinted mischievously, "Now why did you want us to come early and where is the moron?" Spike smirked at the look on his sire's face, sometimes it was just too easy.

"Xander is not a moron, boy, and you'd do well to remember that." Angel finished the rest of his dinner in one gulp and stalked over to the sink to clean out his mug.

Willow smiled at the exchange, "Spike, stop baiting Angel. Its Xander I wanted to talk about. He'll be here in an hour so we don't have much time to plan."

Angel's attention was completely focused when Willow mentioned that Xander was the reason they came early. He wondered what could possibly be going on. If something bad was happening to Xander he wanted to stop it immediately and of course torture the ones responsible. 

Willow took Spike's mug, pushed he and Angel back into the living room and washed it out. She placed it in the dish rack to dry and followed their path into the living room.

She smiled at Angel for taking the chair and leaving her the spot in between them sharing the sofa with Spike, "I don't want to worry you guys. It's nothing hellmouthy as far as I can tell. Xander got a new job today as a personal assistant to Giancarlo Buscetti. His company, Buscetti Enterprises is an investment firm that is the parent company to the restaurant we're going to tonight. Xander will be living above the restaurant and Mr. Buscetti has given him a lot of money already. It's not that I think Xander can't handle the job; I just think that it's too good to be true. I did some searching, and found that Katie Dillon left her job two weeks ago to go to a school in East Texas that specializes in Forestry. So that part of Buscetti's story checks out." 

Willow took a deep breath. "As far as I can tell, all of his investments, including the restaurant, are legit. Nothing looks strange on the surface, but his personnel files read like a Most Wanted list. He has the habit of hiring convicted felons, his financial records show he invested heavily in our former mayor's campaign and he has Wolfram and Hart on permanent retainer. This could all be circumstantial evidence, but I don't want Xander hurt." Willow took another deep breath and leaned back against the sofa. Spike's arm came around her automatically and he squeezed her shoulder.

Angel leaned forward and patted Willow's knee comfortingly, "You're right. This could all be coincidence, but what are the odds when you live on the Hellmouth? I'm glad you told us. Have you mentioned any of this to Xander yet?" 

Willow sighed, "No, he was so excited. He went home to pack his stuff when I started hacking. I called you guys right after I got into Buscetti's personnel files and cross-referenced them with the NCIC."

"You know luv, he could just be a guy who believes in giving folks a second chance, and didn't the Chases invest in the mayor's campaign too? Not to mention that Wolfram and Hart has legitimate human clients. Right, Peaches?" Angel nodded his head at Spike's words, but his mind was working furiously.

All three of them jumped when the phone shrilly broke into their thoughts. Willow leaned over Spike brushing her chest over his lap in an effort to reach the phone. He pulled her back. "I'll get it for you, Pet," his voice cracking a little. Spike handed Willow the receiver, glaring at his sire who was unsuccessfully stifling a chuckle.

"Hello?"

"Wills? It's Xander. Can I meet you guys at Gio's?"

Willow knew that voice, it was the voice he made when his father was really angry. She almost lost it when he said, "Please, Wills. I won't be too late. My stuff is already in boxes. I just need to wait until he passes out again before I can sneak out."

"Did you wake him up earlier?"

"Yeah, and it's not as bad as it looks. I promise. He was just a little upset at the way I was dressed and the loss of the rent money I was paying him. It's ok, really!" Xander whispered.

"Ok, Xan, be safe," Willow sighed and noticed Angel making motions for the phone, must be that vampiric hearing, she thought. "Wait, Angel wants to say something. Hang on." She handed the receiver to Angel. She knew Angel cared for Xander more than he let on, but his next words were a surprise.

"What do you mean its not as bad as it looks?" Without waiting for an answer, the Irish vampire continued, "No, you cannot meet us at Gio's. We'll be parked two houses down. Ye can wave at us when it be safe to get yer things. Ye'll be staying wit' me at the mansion t'night. Is there some'at else I should know?"

"No, Deadboy," Xan gritted through his teeth, "that's just fine. I'll stay with you tonight, but I'm moving to the place above Gio's tomorrow." Xander grumbled outwardly hanging up the phone, but inwardly he was a jumble of nerves. 

Deadboy would see the damage his father had done. He would know exactly what happened. There's no way he couldn't. He didn't even tell Willow the extent of his father's abuse. He just couldn't. He couldn't stand Willow knowing exactly how damaged he really was. He had managed to keep it from the vampires so far, but there's no way they wouldn't be able to tell in the enclosed space of the car. He sighed and strained his ears for the sound of the bottle dropping on the floor signaling his father's descent into oblivion. 

Over the years Xander had perfected the art of sneaking out once his father passed out, and knew exactly how long he had before noise would wake the monster up again. The bottle finally dropped after about ten minutes. Xander let out the breath he didn't know he'd been holding. Xander scurried out of his basement home, he knew he had exactly fourteen minutes before his father would hear him. 

Luckily, Willow and the vampires had been waiting for him. Angel walked up and felt his body all over checking for injuries. Xander tried not to let it affect him, but cursed when Angel hit his bruised ribs. Angel put him in the car and told he and Willow to stay there while the brunette vampire and his childe retrieved Xander's things. Xander finally convinced them to drop his stuff at the mansion and continue with their plans. Although, Angel tried his best to persuade the young man to change his mind so they could all stay in for the night.

Spike glanced from side to side quickly scanning the parking lot, "What did you say the name of the place was again, Luv?" He didn't see any dangers, but one could never be too careful on the Hellmouth.

"It's Gio's Pizzeria." Willow exited the car gracefully.

"Home of the best deep dish in Sunnydale." Xander said in his best announcer voice, but the effect was ruined when he winced getting out of the car. Angel laid a hand on his shoulder to steady him as they turned towards the awning-covered entrance. 

Angel and Spike wanted a booth in the corner near the kitchen that overlooked the entire restaurant. The pizzeria was decorated very simply with booths along the outer walls and various sized tables littering the rest of the floor space. 

Willow wondered why all pizza places seemed to decorate predominantly in golds and reds. This one was mostly wood, but had red and gold accents everywhere. She did like the mural of the waterways of Venice next to the kitchen doors though. Both vampires were grateful for the lack of mirrored surfaces, even though the wooden benches looked painful at first glance. Angel and Spike shared a pointed look with Willow.

Willow nodded minutely. "Um, Xander, since we played muscle movers, why don't we go wash our hands?"

Xander looked at his best friend strangely for a second. He knew that *they* didn't move a thing and that the vampires did all the work but relented. "All right, Wills, whatever you say." Xander allowed Willow to guide him towards the restrooms.

"That redhead of yours catches subtext beautifully." Angel smiled at his childe as they sat in the booth. Both were relieved that the wood was buffed and lacquered and wouldn't be causing painful splinters later. 

"She's not my redhead. Yet," Spike frowned, wondering if he should just go ahead share his speculations, then decided it was for the best if he did. "Look Sire, you had to have noticed. We were all sitting in the front seat of the car with the windows up the whole bloody way." Spike glanced at his sire. The younger vampire could tell Angel was holding his game-face back by sheer force of will. 

Angel's jaw tightened a bit more as his well-versed imagination came out to play. After a moment, the vampire spoke, "I wanted to go back and rip his father's heart out and feed it to him while it was still beating." The vampire paused, images of bloodshed dancing in his eyes, "I might still do it, depending on the answers I coax from Xander tonight." 

Angel and his demon were in total agreement when it came to Xander's well-being. Neither could allow him to be hurt when it could be prevented, and vengeance, well, it was always fun. 

Spike scowled, "Right, you'll win lots of effin' points for that, Peaches. I've got a better idea, why don't you take a sharp pointy stick and poke it in your eye, you'll get further with that, Mate."

A tall woman with dark flowing curly hair, attired in a white button down shirt, red vest and blue pleated skirt came up to the booth and interrupted the conversation. She smiled politely. "Welcome to Gio's. My mame is Mandy, and I'll be your server tonight. Would you like to hear our specials?" The vampires shook their heads. "All right then." She raised her pen. "Are you ready to order?"

Angel smiled back at the waitress cordially. "Yes, we'd like four sodas and a large hand tossed, pepperoni and jalapeno pizza with extra cheese, please."

The waitress had been eyeing the handsome vampires covertly from the kitchen and was a bit disappointed they had guests with them. "Would you like any appetizers while you wait? Breadsticks, fried mushrooms or cheese sticks, maybe?" She smiled pleasantly.

"An order of cheese sticks and marinara sauce would be fine, ducks. Now run along and get those sodas. Please?" Spike gave the waitress his most charming smile, one that got him in and out of beds regularly before he had spent any time with Willow. Now he saved most of those smiles for his witch, even though he hadn't tried one on the redhead yet. The waitress didn't take offense at the bleached vampire's dismissal, and was even smiling to herself as she walked towards the kitchen. 

Spike leaned towards his sire and whispered harshly, "Look, Peaches, I'll be surprised if Xapper bloody well lets you brood in the same room with him without a chaperone, never mind get any information out of him." 

"I know, I know." Angel whispered back, just in time to see Xander and Willow make their way back to the booth. Angel and Spike stood allowing Willow and Xander the inside seats of the booth for better protection. It was a habit of the vampires to put themselves between their humans and the world for protection's sake when they could.

Spike grinned at Xander. "What took you so long, had to make the bleedin' soap yourself?" 

"Nah," Xander answered, "it hurt too much to reach the paper towel dispenser. Their idea of eye level had to have come from seven-foot giants. I let my hands air dry and let the Willster guide me back here the long way. She wanted to see if they had a delivery menu." 

"We ordered your favorite pizza and some cheese sticks. That ok, Luv?" Spike looked at Willow hoping she wouldn't be mad they ordered without consulting the mortals.

Willow smiled, she loved it when Spike was being sweet, although she'd never *tell* him he was being sweet, "As long as you put jalapenos and extra cheese on it, its perfect."

"Well, I did say it was your favorite, didn't I? The Big Bad knows what you like, eh, Pet?" Spike winked at the slightly blushing redhead.

The waitress came back with their sodas and cheese sticks. She glanced at the two who obviously held the beautiful man and his sexy British companion's undivided attention with a brief tinge of envy before she plastered the professional smile back in place. She told them their pizza would be out in a few minutes and to call if they needed anything else before heading back into the kitchen.

"So what were our two favorite children of the night talking about so hush-hush?" Willow grinned as she snagged a cheese stick. Her grin turned into a frown as her fingers realized just how hot the cheese still was and dropped it quickly into her previously ignored saucer. She stuck her burned fingers into her mouth.

"Here, Luv, let me." Spike gently took Willow's fingers and placed them into his mouth. She sighed as his cool tongue soothed her fingers. They weren't burned that bad, but even if she could put two words together coherently, she wasn't about to make Spike stop. He pulled her fingers out of his mouth when he saw her eyes start to glaze a bit. He grinned cockily, "Better?"

"Much." She replied saucily, then ruined the effect by matching the back cushion with her blush. 

"Now before the burnage, you were going to tell us what you guys were talking about, right? Looked pretty serious to the Xan-man." Xander grinned at the dazed look on his best friend's face and was seriously thinking of taking bets with Angel as to how long it'd stay there.

"Nothing to worry about. I was just convincing my wayward childe not to eat our waitress." Angel replied smoothly.

"He couldn't eat her anyway, still fangless, remember, Deadboy? Or old age finally getting to ya?" Xander smiled at his own funny.

"I'll show you old age!" Angel mock threatened.

"Boys!" Willow scolded, "Don't even start, or we'll never get to come back and then what would Xander do for a job!"

"Yeah, what she said!" Spike agreed smugly, shrinking a little as Willow's glare turned to him. 

The pizza arrived stopping any further arguments as the humans gave their undivided attention to their food. The waitress came back as they finished and boxed up the remainder of their food to take home. 

The vampires had stolen a few crusts from Xander and Willow's plates to make it look like they had eaten. They could've actually eaten some pizza, but it tasted more like cardboard than anything appetizing. They could drink the sodas as well, which for the most part tasted like sweetened water so they let the two humans drink those as well. They waited several long moments for the check, during which time Spike and Angel scanned the restaurant for signs of trouble. Of course, being on the Hellmouth and all, they didn't have to wait long for trouble to walk in the door.

~*~

A tall blonde mountain of a man walked into the restaurant wearing a long black trenchcoat and was followed by a slightly smaller brunette woman carrying a duffel bag. Angel was sizing up the man, who happened to have a slight bulge under his shoulder while Spike was noticing that the duffel bag was unzipped and empty. Spike nodded at Angel and leaned over to whisper to Willow, "Luv, when I say now, I want you and Xapper to crawl under the table." He saw where she was about to question him and cut her off, "No, do as I say, please, Pet? I'll explain it later if you want?" He kissed her softly on the lips and nodded again to his sire.

Angel on the other hand wasn't having as much luck with Xander, "Come on Xan, your ribs are bruised, and have to hurt like hell, not to mention other various injuries." Angel laid a hand gently on Xander's shoulder. "I'm not going to let you get hurt ever again if I can stop it. When Spike says now, you get under the table with Willow." Xander looked as if he were about to argue, "No, no arguments. We'll be expecting you to protect her while we take care of the rest." 

Xander looked over at what had caught the vampires' attention, causing the demons to ask the two mortals to crawl under the table. The vampires were sizing up the couple that had just walked into the restaurant. It would be another month before it got any cooler, so the two newcomers were either vampires or robbers. Oh, wait. No, can't be vampires, they're both wearing crosses, must be incredibly stupid then, Xander thought. Restaurants couldn't have that much money in the register. This place had entirely too many witnesses, even if all three couples were in the front of the restaurant, for a few grand, unless they were going for the safe. Why couldn't they wait until the place closed? Xander could not see their logic. Protecting Willow was the only reason Xander agreed to get under the table. Xander thought the would-be robbers were in for a surprise and wondered what the vampires would do.

Angel nodded at Spike, "Distraction?"

"Got it, Peaches." Spike leaned over to Xander and Willow and whispered, "Ok, when I say now, I want one of you to drop your silverware on the floor and both of you to go after it, but no sudden moves. It'll attract too much attention." They nodded at the vampire in agreement, "Ok, now!"

Willow dropped her fork and said casually, "Oops, I'll get that."

Xander smiled and said just as casually, "No, no, I'll get it for you."

Both ducked under the table simultaneously. Willow managed to take both of their sodas with her and Xander the food in case the siege took a long time. They noticed the proof of sharing the same thought and grinned at each other. Willow hated being told what to do, but she knew Spike had to have a reason for such an odd request. He had that intense I love you, please do this one last request for me before I'm dust look in his blue eyes. Sexual innuendo was natural to Spike, but she couldn't imagine him actually loving her before she saw that look. She hadn't noticed the couple until Angel asked Xander to get under the table too and she had to admit that Angel and Spike were a lot more bulletproof than she or Xander were.

Spike stood up slowly and strolled the twenty feet directly to his left from the booth towards the decidedly nervous couple at the cash register. He draped an arm around the woman's shoulders and said, "Hello, Ducks."

Her eyes grew a bit round and knew that her husband Joe was not going to like this. She didn't want the man to get hurt. Hell, she didn't even want to be there, but Carson said they had to hit this place or he'd send one of his boys after them. She reached into the side of her overshirt to the handgun her husband had forced her to carry.

"None of that now, pet, you wouldn't have time to draw before I snapped your neck," Spike whispered into her ear, "Now just keep both hands where I can see them, that's a good luv."

"Sarah! Get away from him!" Joe whispered harshly. He straightened up and moved closer to Spike, "Look, I don't know who you are Mister, but I think you'd better back off. We've got business here that don't concern you." 

"Look, Mate, if you're gonna do this at least bloody think about it and wait until the place is closed." Spike growled.

"Joe, maybe you should listen to him," Sarah tried to reason with her husband, neither noticing the dark-haired vampire coming up behind the gunman.

"I have ord--I'm gonna hit this place when I want to, and I want to now!" Joe twisted his sawed-off shotgun tilting towards chest level from the hip and prepared to fire. He was stopped by a strong hand shoving the barrel towards the ground, but not before a couple of shots were fired. The brunette vampire heard glass breaking, two startled gasps and Spike cursing as he held on to Sarah. He set the shotgun down on the nearest table.

"Bloody hell, Peaches--" Spike stopped mid-curse and sniffed the air. Angel wondered what was going on, tightened his grip on Joe, sniffing the air as well. Blood. He could smell fresh human blood and it belonged to Willow and Xander, the young man's being the strongest.

While Spike was distracted by the scent of Willow and Xander's blood, Sarah pulled her handgun and shot him in the shoulder with the bullet going straight through and lodging in the wall. She couldn't live with herself if she killed anyone, but knew she had to do something to get herself and Joe out of there. She didn't care what Carson said about it. He'd know soon enough what went down. 

Spike leaned down at the waist to conceal his game face, "Dammit, you Poof, why do I always have to be the distraction?"

"Just lucky I guess. Now, Sarah, is it?" the woman nodded at Angel, "I have your man Joe here, and don't think I won't kill him if you don't put your gun down and slide it over to my friend." Angel tightened his grip on Joe's throat just thinking about Xander and Willow being hurt. They were his. They were under his protection and someone else harmed them. His anger boiled up to near breaking levels, but the whimper from Joe brought him back. It seemed that Angel had tightened his grip a little more and was cutting off more airflow for the unfortunate criminal. He knew he needed to get the girl disarmed and both of them out of the place, but the smell of Xander's blood was calling to him. Angel knew the wound wasn't serious, but it was bleeding heavily. The smell of Willow's blood was fainter, but she was still bleeding quite a bit as well. They both needed to be taken back to the mansion and be cleaned and patched up.

"Sarah," Joe croaked when Angel released enough pressure for him to talk, "C'mon, Sarah, do as the man says. We'll talk to Car--we'll talk later." Sarah dropped her gun and pushed it towards Spike with her foot. Spike, having regained control over his game face, picked up the gun, placing it in his belt. Once Angel saw this, he released Joe face first into the carpet.

"Don't you ever come around here with guns again, or we won't be held responsible for what happens to you. You're both lucky that my friend and I have to attend to more urgent matters, or this could've turned out worse for you. Go. Now." Angel waited until the man crawled over to Sarah and she helped him to his feet. When the would-be robbers walked out the door, Angel and Spike ran over to the table.

Xander was shielding Willow's body with his own and somehow the glasses had shattered in front of Willow. Xander's shoulder had been grazed and Willow had shards of glass imbedded in the front of her body.

"Xander, Willow? You guys are going to be ok. I'm going to back up, and Xander, you come out first. Move very slowly and try not to lean on your right shoulder. Willow, when he comes out of there, I want you to lay down flat on your back and let us pull you out. Be careful not to imbed the glass any more than you can help it." Angel backed away from the booth and glanced around the suddenly customer-free restaurant. The staff is probably still hiding in the kitchen, Angel thought. His childe was speaking to a stocky gentleman in his fifties wearing a dark suit with a black shirt and tie. 

Spike was explaining about the robbery attempt, and that they'd convinced the robbers it would be in their best interests to go elsewhere. The older gentleman, who indeed had turned out to be Giancarlo Buscetti, was pleased that the robbers had left and that no one was interested in calling the particularly inept Sunnydale Police Department. He was, however, concerned about his newest employee and his employee's friend.

"They're going to be ok, right? Do you need me to take them to the hospital?" He asked.

"No, we can take care of them. I hope this doesn't affect Xander's employment, Mr. Buscetti?" Angel said politely with growly undertones.

"No, no! Call me Gio, and I wouldn't think of changing my agreement with Xander. I won't expect him at work until Monday so he can recover, but I'll be paying him for what he would've worked between now and Monday. I also can't allow him to move into the apartment for another week at least, so I can get an inspector out to look at the damage, and finish all the repairs. It's a good thing I don't have all my eggs in one basket, eh?" Gio smiled and nudged Angel jokingly.

Angel smiled through his teeth, anxious to get his people out of there, "Thank you Gio, we'll will be in touch."

~*~

Spike stood up with Willow in his arms, thankful that she wasn't complaining, while Xander leaned heavily on the back of the booth when Angel nodded for them to leave. Xander was stumbling and looked ready to pass out so Angel leaned over and scooped the young man up in his arms as well being careful of Xander's bruised ribs. The vampires carried their precious cargo to the car and tried to make the ride over as comfortable as possible for the injured humans.

Angel kicked open the door and walked into the living room. The elder vampire set Xander down gently on the couch near the fireplace careful to keep his shoulder elevated. Angel went to the bathroom and pulled out several towels and his first aid kit. The brunette vampire returned to the living room dropping his supplies on the coffee table. He told Spike to wait before he placed Willow in front of the fireplace, and pulled a blanket from the back of the couch. The dark haired vampire folded the blanket in half and spread it on the floor a few feet in front of the fireplace before quietly perching on the edge of the couch near Xander's waist. 

"Thanks, Peaches," Spike whispered as he placed Willow on the blanket in front of the fireplace. He positioned her carefully, so her body wouldn't be touching the cold floor. 

"Hmmm... rock salt, maybe?" Angel spoke quietly, "must've just wanted a show, some quick cash, and no fatalities." 

"Show, my ass, look at Red! She's bleedin'! Even Xapper is wounded. I like a decent spot of violence just as much as the next bloke, but leave my humans out of it," Spike spat from the kitchen. He brought two large bowls filled with warm water, placing one near Willow on the floor and the other near Angel on the coffee table. Angel opened a couple of packets, and tossed one of the alcohol-covered cloths to his childe. Spike nodded and both vampires sterilized their hands as best they could in the situation. The bleached vampire grabbed a handful of medical supplies and a few of the towels Angel had brought before kneeling down next to Willow.

"Spike?" Willow asked weakly.

"Yeah, luv?" Spike responded.

"You kissed me." Willow said with an almost question-like inflection.

"That I did, luv." Spike smiled at the redhead, but hating what was about to come next. "Pet?" The blonde vampire tried again when he didn't receive a response, "Red? Don't take this the wrong way and it might hurt a bit, but I'm going to have to move your clothing so I can fish all the glass out. You can stay still for me, right Luv?" Spike held her eyes briefly as she nodded her assent.

"S'ok, Spike, I've been a Scooby for a while. I know the drill." Willow tried a grin though it came out more as a grimace because of her discomfort.

Angel glanced away from the quiet conversation his childe and Willow were having, and back to the job at hand. Xander was lying on his stomach facing the fireplace and his two friends. He wasn't moving much, or speaking, and the latter was what worried Angel.

"Ok, Xander, this will probably sting, but I'm going to remove your shirt. After I do, I'll be using warm water to clean off the blood a little and see if you need to be sewn up. Are you with me, Xan?" Angel laid a cool hand on Xander's forehead.

The vampires worked as quickly as they could to clean out the wounds, sterilize, stitch, and bandage their humans. However, the whole process took longer than expected. They dried their blood-caked hands on the one clean towel left. It wasn't much, but it would do until they both could clean up later. 

Now that the younger vampire didn't have to worry about Willow imbedding the glass deeper, he moved her to a more comfortable spot on the unoccupied couch. Both she and Xander seemed to be in a semi-conscious state, and Spike knew it was from the pain. "Sire," he asked.

"Yes, William," Angel sighed wishing the night had gone better.

"Ya got anything for pain in there? They could probably both use enough to knock out a horse, but with the blood loss..." the younger vampire trailed off.

Angel had a vague plan forming in his mind, and started digging through the kit. Finding his prize, he answered his childe's unspoken question, "we should probably stick with an over the counter painkiller for now."

"Right." Spike went back to the kitchen and retrieved two bottles of water. He had almost filled a couple of glasses from the tap but remembered that Angel kept the fridge stocked with the bottled water that the humans preferred. He didn't understand it. As long as it was clear, water was water as far as he was concerned, but they assured him the taste was different. Spike smiled briefly at the memory of that conversation, and exchanged one of the bottles with a couple of capsules in Angel's hand. 

After the humans swallowed, Angel took both partially empty bottles, placing them on the shared endtable. The dark-haired vampire sighed and looked over to his childe, "I'm going to take this stuff back to the bathroom and find them something clean to wear. Will you get rid of the rest?"

"Sure, Mate, but don't expect me to clean the friggin windows too," Spike mock-growled.

Angel cuffed his childe on the back of the head mumbling about smart-assed children, before packing the unused first aid supplies back into the kit. The brunette vampire gathered it and the used towels on his way to the bathroom. 

Spike grabbed the empty boxes and wrappers tossing them into the half empty bowls before taking it all to the kitchen. The blonde vampire was tempted to toss everything down the disposal, but knew his neat freak Sire would complain a hundred years from now about it. Instead, he dumped their contents into the trash bin under the sink. He washed his hands, shrugged, and washed both bowls, leaving the wet dishes in the rack to dry. 

Spike opened the cabinet next to the refrigerator and cursed. He opened several more cabinets before he found the mugs above the coffee maker. "Bloody wanker," he muttered pulling two down, "always moving the mugs from where I put 'em. Stupid tosser." He went back to the fridge pulling out a couple of packets, ripping them open with his teeth and dumping their contents into the mugs. 

By the time Spike returned to the living room with the heated mugs, Angel had already re-dressed the humans and was currently coaxing a fire out of the fireplace. Spike set the mugs down, the clinking noise catching Angel's attention, and arched a scarred eyebrow in his sire's direction. Turning away from his sire, he shifted Willow slightly placing her head in his lap. He picked up his mug wanting to finish his dinner while it was still extremely hot. Hearing her whimper, he used his left hand to caress her arm soothingly, and looked back to Angel for a response. 

Angel finished lighting the fire, "I know, but I don't want them cold." The elder vampire stood up, pushed the free-standing screen back in place, and said softly, "I'm going to get a few more blankets."

"Well, hurry it up you poof, your dinner's gettin' cold," Spike said gruffly and finished his off in one gulp. 

"I'll drink it cold, or re-heat it," Angel called from in front of the linen closet.

Spike grimaced at the thought, "All right, Mate, whatever you say."

Angel returned to the living room and covered Willow and Xander with the blankets he'd brought. The souled vampire smirked at the look on Spike's face, took the empty mug from his childe's fingers, and grabbed his own mug on his way to the kitchen. Angel finished his dinner, washed both mugs, leaving them in the rack next to the bowls before returning to the living room. He echoed his childe's position with Xander, using his left hand to stroke the young man's hair, "I want to claim them, William, tonight."

"Are you daft?! There's no way in 'ell they're ready for that!" Spike whispered harshly, "and what do you mean by them, you nonce?! There's no way you're touching Red!"

"Right of the Sire, me boy, and relax! Do you want to wake them?" Angel hissed, "I love Willow, but you know I think of her as a little sister. It's irrelevant anyway. I only want to initiate the first half of the claiming. I agree that they aren't ready for more than that..."

"Damn straight I'm right--" Spike interrupted.

Angel continued as if Spike hadn't spoken, "but I'd like to offer them more protection than they have already. If I claim them, they'd automatically be under your protection as well."

Spike snorted, "Bugger that! If you haven't noticed yet, Mate, being under *your* protection won't mean squat to those who know you're a pansy-ass vampire with a bleedin' *soul*." 

Angel smiled predatorily, "I don't mind giving a few preventative lessons."

The blonde vampire shuddered, immediately trying to cover it as a shrug, "Wouldn't hurt, Mate, as long as I'm not on the receiving end."

Angel smiled warmly at his childe. A distinct love of bloodshed always brought them together. "If it makes you feel better, we'll both initiate the first stage, as long as they agree to it. That way they'll still have protection if something happens to one of us."

"Who the fuck said anything was going to happen to y-us?! I'm not getting dusted anytime soon, Peaches," Spike snarled.

Angel caught his slip, but chose not to mention it, instead saying, "Spike, I just want to double their chances."

"Fine," Spike relented, "but we should do it now so they'll heal faster."

"Assuming they agree," Angel pointed out smoothing the hair back from Xander's forehead.

Spike unwittingly echoed the gesture as he looked at the sleeping Willow fondly, "right." 

Letting the humans sleep, the vampires sat in silence, brooding into the fire. After a few hours, Spike broke the silence, "Angelus, that bloke at the restaurant, he mentioned having orders to hit the place."

"Someone named 'Car'-something, he didn't finish the guy's name." Angel's expression hardened. "I really wanna go back and eviscerate him."

"The guy who ordered it or the idiot?"

"Both, really." 

"Right. Leave me some entrails, eh? And make sure they're still alive when you do. I have plans, Angelus, lots of bloody plans." 

"Willow did say earlier that Gio's personnel file read like a Who's Who list of felons." Angel looked at the warm sleepy Xander beginning to stir in his lap. "I'm sure many of them have enemies. We just have to figure out which one starts with 'Car'. Shouldn't take too much digging." 

"What shouldn't take too much digging?" Xander opened a bleary eye, then blushed when he realized his head was in Angel's lap, with the vampire absently stroking his hair.


End file.
